1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to traffic barriers, and more particularly to a portable two sided traffic barrier which is compactly foldable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traffic barriers have been used over the years as a means to direct movement of people and vehicles. Generally, portable traffic barriers are used for temporary purposes in order to direct traffic, such as during maintenance or repair operations of a surface. Portable traffic barriers have been developed in the prior art which permit the portable traffic barrier to be set down upon a surface, and the shape thereof and indicia thereon serves to alert people, as desired.
A very common type of portable traffic barrier is a cone. One such cone is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,556 to Ditrich, dated Nov. 9, 1971, which discloses a cone shaped toppiece which sits above a circular base, the base in this case being inflatable. Another cone is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,807 to Campbell, dated Apr. 15, 1980, which discloses a cylindrical base to which is connected to a collapsible spiral which may nest within the base. Still another cone is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,376 to Wells, dated Aug. 21, 1984, which discloses a selectively foldable upright polygon which connects to a selectively foldable base.
Another very common type of portable traffic barrier is a triangular marker. Examples of triangular markers are: U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,328 to Kiniry, dated June 29, 1971, which discloses a triangle constructed of three members which allow for quick assembly; U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,681 to Sernovitz, dated July 20, 1971, which discloses a foldable triangular marker having an attached flag pole; U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,177 to Miller, dated Dec. 7, 1971, which discloses a foldable triangularly shaped portion which selectively engages a base member; U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,897 to Meek et al, dated July 3, 1973, which discloses a folding triangular reflector member which selectively engages a box base; U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,214 to Evans et al, dated Sept. 18, 1973, which discloses three legs forming a collapsible triangle having a brace member; U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,881 to Ward, dated Oct. 23, 1973, which discloses a portable traffic warning device constructed of three pivotably joined elongated members; U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,012 to Lindner et al, dated Nov. 20, 1973, which discloses a collapsible leg assembly which forms a triangle, the leg assembly resting upon a pedestal; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,119 to Hedgewick et al, dated Jan. 20, 1976, which discloses a traffic warning device composed of a collapsible body having three legs.
In spite of the range of prior art devices recounted above, there yet remains several disadvantages in conventional traffic barrier devices. The first class of traffic barriers, cones, are relatively expensive and are generally not adaptable for the display of messages. The second class of traffic barriers, triangles, are frequently somewhat expensive and only the edge of the triangles is used to convey traffic information, again resulting in difficulty adapting these devices for purposes of conveying messages.